


Side Effects

by hayam



Series: Missing Pieces [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Has Issues, Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Force Drain, Gen, Grandparent Yoda (Star Wars), Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Cancer, POV Mace Windu, Parental Mace Windu, Protective Yoda (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28400868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hayam/pseuds/hayam
Summary: After Anakin had missed an entire day of assisting Mace Windu in training younglings, Master Windu checks on the ailing Jedi. But what he did not expect was becoming ill himself...
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker & Yoda, Mace Windu & Yoda
Series: Missing Pieces [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032303
Comments: 3
Kudos: 59





	Side Effects

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Mentions of Cancer and Chemotherapy

Mace Windu walked out of the youngling training room. Anakin Skywalker was a no show for the morning session, which wasn’t uncommon. But being a no show for the afternoon session without a warning? That was not like Anakin.

And if something happened to Anakin under his watch, Mace knew that Obi-Wan would kill him, or Ahsoka, or Senator Amidala, or every clone trooper in the 501st.

Before he knew it, he was at Anakin and Ahsoka's (And unofficially Obi-Wan's) shared living quarters. He knocked on the door and waited five minutes and just as he was about to open the door, Anakin answered. 

Anakin was wearing casual Naboo wear and leaned against the door for support. Mace noticed how thin Anakin looked without his usual heavy robes covering him. There was a bruise peeking from the young man’s sleeve.

“Hello Master Windu,” Anakin greeted even though he looked less than enthused,” what brings you to my quarters?”

“Are you alright Anakin? You didn’t show up for the afternoon session with the younglings."

“I’m fine, I am just more tired than usual today, ” he explained.

Mace Windu remembered Obi-Wan warning him that Anakin may be feeling well once a day and would have no energy the next.

“During these bad days the only thing Anakin needs to focus on is rest,” Obi-Wan has told him,” he may need some help with certain tasks.”

“How long have you been sleep?,” Mace asked.

Anakin shifted his weight on his legs.

“Um, I really don’t know-I just got up to take some of my medication,” he muttered,” what time is it?”

“It is just after midday.”

Anakin’s eyes widened muttered something in Hutteese and judging by the sound of it, it was not pleasant.

“I slept for twelve hours?!,” he exclaimed,” why didn’t Obi-Wan or Ahsoka wake me up?!”

“Your Master and Padawan probably just felt you need a few more hours of sleep.”

Anakin rolled his eyes and huffed.

”Well I'm going to make myself some tea, do you want to join?”

Maybe Anakin was more like Obi-Wan than I thought, Mace reflected. 

“Some tea sounds nice.”

Anakin smiled and let Mace in the quarters. The strong scent of disinfectant hit Mace’s nose as soon as he walked in. 

Mace noticed a mess of droid parts on the coffee table in the living room. Typical Skywalker.

“Excuse the mess, I haven’t had a chance to...”

Anakin’s turned a slight pale color and put his hand on his head. 

”Skywalker, are you alright?”

Anakin squeezed his blue eyes shut and opened them.

“I don’t know what came over me...,” he finally stated a bit breathless,” but I haven’t had a chance to finish repairing the droid.”

If Mace didn’t know Anakin, he would have let this slide but Mace knew this was the boy who hid a cancer diagnosis for more than a month. Not exactly the most open person.

Without warning, he grabbed Anakin’s flesh hand.

“Hey!”

He ignored Anakin’s protest and searched for any type of abnormalities within the boy. He felt low blood pressure, pain in his joints, a headache, and extreme fatigue.

“I will make you some food and tea, you just rest,” he said to Anakin as he hurried out of the Force presence as he started to feel sick too. 

To his shock, Anakin didn’t argue back and nodded as he sat down on the couch.

Mace went into the kitchen and he saw that there was already saw a soup warmed up on the stove. A note in Obi-Wan’s neat handwriting:

_ “Anakin I have noticed you weren’t feeling well this morning so I have already made your food. Homemade Callosian vegetable soup for lunch, I have cut up some fruit and vegetables in the refrigerator, I have also made a protein smoothie in the refrigerator and for dinner, I have made you lean Nerf stew. Remember to drink a lot of water so you won't get dehydrated.” _

Then there was a note from Ahsoka next to it:

_ “Don’t do anything stupid when we are gone Master and call someone if you need any help." _

Wait a minute, where were Master Kenobi and Padawan Tano? Those two usually hover over Anakin.

“Where are your Master and Padawan?," he asked after he finished warming up Anakin's soup.

“Avoiding me, probably,” he muttered before grabbing the bowl of soup.

Mace frowned. In his opinion, Ahsoka and especially Obi-Wan had been too attached to the young knight since his illness. He couldn’t imagine them ditching Anakin.

“What makes you believe that?”

Anakin shook his head and took a sip of tea.

“Whenever I have my more difficult days, they leave me alone more often...not as I can blame them, they didn’t sign up for this.”

Mace was already thinking of meeting up with the Master and Padawan. He didn’t know much about cancer treatment but even he knew that one should never leave a patient by themselves on their bad days. 

Anakin continued eating his soup.

“Well, I will stay with you until they come back.”

As Anakin finished his soup, Mace felt nauseated and sweaty and felt like he needed to lay down. He shook it off, Anakin was already sick, they didn’t need two sick Jedi.

However, as Mace felt worse, he noticed Anakin looked better. Color returned to his face and he wasn’t bent down in pain. 

“Thank you Master but that won’t be necessary, I feel much better...but you look horrible?”

Mace narrowed his eyes, Anakin's sudden improvement could not be because of soup. Was Anakin transferring his pain to him? Or rather, mooching off his Life Force?

He wondered if that is why Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were nowhere to be found. If he felt like this just being around Anakin for a little while, he couldn’t imagine days at a time...

“Anakin have you been Force draining Ahsoka or Obi-Wan to feel better?” he gasped out.

Rage brightened Anakin’s blue eyes and Mace wondered if he should have worded his question better.

”Of course not! That is a Sith ability!” he snapped.

Mace forced himself away from Anakin’s nearly smothering presence and immediately his strength returned. Anakin groaned in pain and his knees buckled. He caught the young man before he hit the ground and he placed the boy in the wheelchair that was near the couch.

“How about we meet with Master Yoda and see if there is a way we can fix this?,” Mace asked.

* * *

  
  


Master Yoda was meditating, a practice he had been doing more often as the war raged on. Between General Skywalker’s illness, Padawan Offee’s betrayal; darkness surrounded the temple, the clone troopers, and the Republic as a whole. 

A familiar rage filled presence along with a familiar stoic presence interrupted his meditative state.

“Young Skywalker and Master Windu, what brings you here?” he asked.

“Master Windu here believes that I’m a Sith, Master Yoda," Anakin whined.

“Oh how I miss your brevity Young Skywalker,” Mace sighed,” I believe that Anakin maybe subconsciously using a Dark Side technique.”

Master Yoda opened his eyes and he saw Master Windu who was pushing Anakin in a wheelchair. Master Yoda read Anakin’s face and he saw annoyance written all over his face. Mace's expression was unreadable as usual.

“Subconsciously? My Force sensitivity had been _poodoo_ since I’ve been on chemotherapy.”

“Language, Skywalker,” Mace scolded.

Even as Anakin talked Yoda felt a jab that tried to enter his own Force presence.

“Speak to Anakin alone, I wish Master Windu.”

Mace Windu bowed his head and left Yoda with the temperamental young Jedi.

“How feel you?”

“Everyone keeps asking me the same question and I always say ‘I’m fine’ but we all know I’m not exactly fine.”

There was a wave of growing anger with each syllable from the boy.

“Angry, you are, Hmm?”

Anakin shifted in his wheelchair.

“Anger is not the way of the Jedi,” he stated with gritted teeth before adding,” but I am a bit frustrated.”

“Hmm,” Yoda remarked,” what is the cause of your frustration?”

Anakin let out a slight chuckle. 

“Well, that’s a difficult question to answer, but I think it is probably just stress from treatment.”

As Anakin’s anger grew, so did the efforts to enter Yoda’s life force. But the attempts were futile.

Yoda sensed stress within the boy but it was nothing compared to another emotion eating away at Anakin’s mind.

Envy? Jealousy? Longing?

“Desire something that others have that you lack, young Skywalker,” Yoda clarified.

Anakin shrugged and looked at the ground.

“I know desire is not the Jedi way but it can be very difficult to watch everyone around you eat what they want, be able to move without any problems while you can't join them, " he told him, " and on my bad days I just feel even more alone."

Yoda nodded as he placed the pieces together. Anakin‘s mild form of Force draining wasn’t something done out of spite, it was a cry for help. A desperate attempt to feel better. Even if it drained the life force of others.

The older Jedi Master got off his seat and walked towards Anakin.

“And healthy you will be again Young Skywalker,” Yoda reassured,” but stop your Force draining, we must.”

“How are you not affected, Master Yoda?,” Anakin asked, his blue eyes reading Master Yoda.

Master Yoda smiled at the young man.

“In nearly 900 years, many things I have seen and experienced, Young Skywalker,” he reassured,” visit you more on your difficult days, I should.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have been trying to be just a little bit experimental with how Anakin having a disease such as cancer may affect one's ability with the Force and poof, I wrote this. I would love to have a polite critique on this before I consider putting this sort of idea within the main series "Splintered Stars". (The last two chapters of that should be coming up soon...) Okay, I am talking too long, thank you for reading!


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